Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder. Normally, red blood cells are disc-shaped and flexible. In sickle cell disease, however, hemoglobin (the chemical within red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body) is abnormal. This defect causes red blood cells to collapse into a crescent, or sickle, shape.

These abnormal blood cells are destroyed at an unusually high rate, causing a shortage of red blood cells (anemia). In addition, they can suddenly clump together and clog up small blood vessels throughout the body. This clumping causes what is called a sickle cell crisis.

When blood vessels are blocked by sickle-shaped red blood cells, parts of the body are deprived of oxygen. This can cause severe pain and damage to the organs and tissues that are deprived.

Common triggers of sickle cell crisis include smoking, exercise, exposure to high altitudes, fever, infection, dehydration, and the drop in oxygen or changes in air pressure that can occur during airplane travel.

Diagnosis of sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait (a condition in which a person has one of the two genes necessary to develop sickle cell disease) can be done through blood testing, using a technique called hemoglobin electrophoresis. Treatment involves managing the anemia, chronic pain, and organ damage caused by sickle cell disease. In addition, the drug hydroxyurea can reduce occurrences of sickle cell crisis. Of course, it is also important to minimize exposure to conditions or situations that can trigger sickle cell crisis.

Principal Proposed Natural Treatments

Children with sickle cell disease often do not grow normally. Zinc deficiency can also cause delayed growth, and there is some evidence that people with sickle cell disease are more likely than others to be deficient in the mineral
zinc
.
1
For this reason, zinc supplementation at nutritional doses has been suggested for children with sickle cell disease.

In a
placebo-controlled study
, 42 children (ages 4 to 10) with sickle cell disease were given either zinc supplements (10 mg of zinc daily) or placebo for a period of 1 year.
1
Results showed that by the end of the study, the participants given zinc showed enhanced growth compared to those given placebo. Curiously, researchers did not find any solid connection between the severity of zinc deficiency and the extent of response to treatment.

Zinc is thought to have a stabilizing effect on the cell membrane of red blood cells in people with sickle cell disease. For this reason, it has been tried as an aid for preventing sickle cell crisis. In a
double-blind, placebo-controlled study
of 145 people with sickle cell disease conducted in India, participants received either placebo or about 50 mg of zinc 3 times daily.
2
During 18 months of treatment, the zinc-treated subjects had an average of 2.5 crises, compared to 5.3 for the placebo group. However, zinc didn't seem to reduce the severity of a crisis, as measured by the number of days spent in the hospital for each crisis.

Sickle cell disease can also cause skin ulcers (non-healing sores). In a 12-week, placebo-controlled trial, use of zinc at 88 mg 3 times per day for 12 weeks enhanced the rate of ulcer healing.
3
And, in another placebo-controlled trial, 25 mg of zinc 3 times per day for 3 months reduced the frequency of infections in children with sickle cell disease.
29

Warning:

The high dosages of zinc used in the last two studies can cause dangerous toxicity, and should be taken—if at all—only under the supervision of a doctor. The nutritional dose described in the first study, however, is safe.

For more information, including detailed dosage and safety issues, see the full
zinc
article.

Other Proposed Natural Treatments

A 1-year-long, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of 82 people with sickle cell disease tested a combination herbal treatment made from plants indigenous to Nigeria.
28
The results indicate that use of the herbal mixture reduced the incidence of sickle cell crisis.

A very small double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found intriguing evidence that
fish oil
may reduce the frequency of painful sickle cell episodes, possibly by reducing the tendency of the blood to clot.
4

Lime juice added to a routine oral treatment of folic acid, vitamin B complex, and proguanil significantly reduced the frequency of painful episodes, fever, and hospitalization in a randomized trial of 113 children with sickle cell disease. Dosage of lime juice was based on the child's weight and was taken twice per day.
30

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